From the streets to Te Araroa: Cassidy’s story
Cassidy, a pseudonym used in the 2025 social impact research commissioned by St John of God Hauora Trust, is NZ European, in his mid-twenties. He describes a “pretty rough upbringing.”
When he completed the Waipuna adventure therapy programme in early 2024, he was homeless.
He first heard about Waipuna in Christchurch Prison, through a friend who was doing the course. He spoke to his probation officer and got a judge to agree to the programme as a condition of release.
What the programme involved
Activities during Cassidy’s 10 weeks included Castle Hill, mountain biking, hiking in the Port Hills, coasteering, and Laser Strike.
He describes himself as naturally very reserved, with a history of mental health challenges and confrontations. His group included someone he would normally fight with on the streets. The tikanga of the programme, what happens on the outside stays on the outside, held. It remained neutral throughout.
“There’s some people don’t want to be there, but on the group, there was one person that on the street we would always fight. In this environment, one of the rules is, whatever happens on the outside, you leave it on the outside. That’s a neutral environment, and it stayed that way.”
A house
During the programme, Cassidy told another participant he was homeless. The Waipuna team moved him into their transitional housing and advocated on his behalf to help him secure a Kāinga Ora house.
“If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I would have had the confidence to actually tell my housing manager what position I was in. They just stepped in: ‘He’s homeless. He needs a place.’ That’s when I realised I would get a house.”
Running, and a visit to his mum
Cassidy discovered a passion for running through the programme. He is now training to complete Te Araroa, the full length of Aotearoa.
Before the programme, he would not have tried because of anxiety about what people thought of him. Waipuna also supported him to reinstate his driver’s licence and to enrol in a career-focused programme at Ara.
He had been estranged from his family for a long time. With Waipuna support, he visited his dying mother a week before his research interview.
“Just a sense of being welcomed. A family feel.”
Two years later
At the time of his interview, Cassidy had been out of trouble and not using drugs for just over two years. He credits the programme and the people with giving him the confidence to do things he previously could not imagine doing alone.
“Things like the running and stuff, I never got into that but now I’m confident enough to do it. I used to worry about what everyone would be thinking of me and all that sort of stuff.”
Cassidy’s story is one of eight in-depth interviews conducted with male former reintegration participants as part of the 2025 Social Impact Assessment of adventure therapy at St John of God Waipuna. The research was conducted by Sarah Wylie under ethics approval from the Aotearoa Research Ethics Committee (AREC25_10). All names in the research are pseudonyms.
Summary Report
A summary of the independent impact research into Waipuna's adventure therapy programme, covering outcomes and findings from the 2023 to 2026 reporting period.
Social Impact Report 2025
Our full impact report measuring outcomes, reach and the difference our Adventure Therapy services made for people and whānau across Aotearoa.
Impact Report →
Social ROI Analysis 2025
Independent analysis of the social return on investment generated by the Waipuna reintegration programme – $15.44 for every dollar invested.